January 25, 2016,
Inc.
September 18, 2015,
Inc.
March 20, 2015,
Inc
The next frontier is wearable technology and the Apple Watch will not only be a timekeeper, but it will also be a timesaver.
Read the entire article here: https://www.inc.com/kelli-richards/how-the-apple-watch-is-paving-the-way-to-a-new-generation-of-wearable-tech.html
Formally known as “The Apple Watch,” Apple again forces us all to ask one existential question: What is it? Is it a bird? A plane? A watch, computer, bracelet, phone, or tablet? Now, you might be saying: Smart watches aren’t a new idea. But, in the end, Apple really does just do everything better. Jon Ivey, Senior VP of design at Apple declares, in the iWatch film, “It’s driven Apple from the beginning, this compulsion to take incredibly powerful technology and making it accessible, relevant and ultimately, deeplyl personal.”
In the iWatch, it seems like Apple has done just that; bringing recognizable Apple design and technology to a smaller, wearable, more personal scale. Whereas other smart watches look just like that; a smart watch. The “iWatch” is a completely different beast. To begin with, it’s a beautiful watch. It’s a classy analog, stainless steel time piece. It’s also a colorful, dynamic, fit exercise partner. Or, it’s a relaxed fit, leather bound daily personal assistant.
Imagine taking the iPad and shrinking it down. Or perhaps take the iPhone plus, shrink it down; now you have the iPad mini, shrink that down, shrink it down again, and again, and throw it on your wrist. It has your favorite application capabilities, from your music, to messages, to fitness monitor, and email. You know all the ways you can customize your iPad? With Apple smart cases and covers? Well, the iWatch offers over two million combinations of watch display from analog to digital and landscape mode, to varying selections regarding band.
Possibly the coolest feature of the iWatch, however, is its most subtle dynamic: a digital touch function. Basically, you can get a friend’s attention, who also has an iWatch, by just tapping, or writing on your iWatch. They sync and your written message appears on your friends display. Anything from, a quick reminder to pick up milk, to a simple, “Hello,” is easily captured with an easy, fast touch of the wrist. Now that’s cool.
So while Apple has been raving about their new release of the iPhone 6, basically joining Samsung in the phablet craze, (and when it comes to that particular product, they remind us that The Next Big Thing has actually been here for quite some time), I’ll just sit back and wait for the next LITTLE Thing, and it’s release in “early 2015.”
THIS is the ultimate in wearable computing – done in the ultimate best way. Steve Jobs would definitely be proud.
Kelli Richards,
CEO of The All Access Group, LLC.
Of the 28 million small businesses in the United States, 52 percent of them are home-based. Maintaining and organizing your business from home is easier with the advancements in mobile technology. With the latest apps and services you can organize your business’ finances, organize your team, market your product, and provide your customers with top-notch customer service. These technologies have made it easy for home businesses to streamline processes and produce products that mimic larger organizations.
Managing your business finances can be challenging, to say the least. While you may want to consider contracting this job out to a savvy accountant, programs and apps can help you manage the task yourself. With a great business data plan from T-Mobile on a tablet like the iPad Air, you can even enter invoices and payment in the field or on the go. Quickbooks: The cloud-based platform from Intuit has been a stalwart in tracking expenses for businesses both large and small. The all-encompassing account software allows you to send invoices to customers and accept payment for any sales as well as track any expenses towards you make for your business. Also, if you have employees, it has a payroll feature to cut checks to your employees. Paypal: Paypal also allows you to receive or send payments through your mobile device. If you are on the go you can make sales on the spot. For an extra $30 a month you can customize the experience for your shoppers and even receive payments via phone, fax, and mail.
If your team works remotely, the latest technology enables you to communicate with your team and track milestones: DropBox: Share files with team members seamlessly and securely through DropBox. Share large files with important data with your team members without the need to physically hand it to them. Skype: The leader in video conferencing software, Skype enables your team to communicate face to face and discuss anything related to the business. Omnifocus: This multi-faceted app allows you to organize your team and yourself, as well. Omnifocus let’s you create tasks for your team to complete and provide them with any material to complete any goals you place for them.
The advent of social media has made marketing easier for all types of businesses, but there are plenty of tools home-based businesses can leverage: Buffer: Buffer allows you to manage all your social media accounts on one platform through your iPad. It enables you to schedule your content to publish when you think the most interaction will occur. TweetDeck: This is a great app for you to directly engage with the followers of your business and track what your customers and potential customers are chatting about. This allows you to engage swiftly and produce content towards your target audience.
These mobile technologies have allowed home businesses to provide top-notch customer service to their customers. Zoho CRM: Zoho gives you access to to your customer’s data through its mobile app. It saves and tracks all communication and transactions with the customer so you have all the data in one place wherever you are. Zendesk: Zendesk is used by companies worldwide, large and small, and creates a platform for addressing the issues your customers face.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
PS, The right mentor should also have the right CONNECTIONS to move you forward.
Be sure to ask who they think they can bring to the table around advisorship, possible collaboration and even funding.
THESE TOP COMPANIES DO BIG THINGS SEPARATELY; IMAGINE WHAT THEY COULD ACCOMPLISH TOGETHER.
One of the best parts of working in the tech industry is having a ringside seat to watch heavyweights like Google and Apple duke it out for market share and to be the first to develop the next big thing.
When tech titans acquire smaller, hotter companies or struggling enterprises that have been around the block, the result is often an exciting jolt of innovation and a threat of a bold industry upset.
When Google acquired Nest Lab this year for example, it was great for business and the consumer. Google had a vision for Nest as a game changer in the smart home category, and Nest enjoyed a long list of benefits. Google accelerated Nest’s strategic initiative, took it off the market to prevent its competitors from acquiring it, and boosted its own brand appeal. Nest was young, sexy, and desirable–an image that Apple has dominated for years.
Likewise, Facebook acquired Instagram in April 2012, when it was extremely small, for $1 billion–inheriting a rock-solid user base and carving out a larger chunk of the social sphere.
Successful mergers drive the tech industry forward and make new devices and services accessible to the average person. In the case of Nest, it made the young company able to reach more consumers with its clean tech initiative, and Instagram’ following quadrupled to more than 150 millions monthly active users after its acquisition.
There are several tech giants that have been dancing around some promising acquisitions for a while now, and I think I speak for everyone when I say they just need to do it already!
1. APPLE ACQUIRING DISNEY OR NETFLIX
Everyone knows that Apple has a huge war chest to buy relevant companies, and of course they’ve employed it several times over the years.
While Apple devotees around the world were disappointed to learn an Apple-Tesla merger was not in the cards for Elon Musk (at the moment, anyway), a more likely scenario is that Apple will try to acquire a major content company like Netflix or Disney in the near future.
Of course, Disney would be a big catch for Apple. The brands both embrace creativity, innovation, and delivering an amazing customer experience. In a merger, Apple would be able to ship the long-awaited Apple TV with access to ESPN, Pixar movies, and other Disney content. Consumers would have access to a much broader content library largely on-demand in the cloud, and Bob Iger and Tim Cook would be a dynamic duo that could boost shareholder confidence and inject innovation into both brands.
Netflix boasts a similar advantage of on-demand streaming and high-quality original content. An acquisition would reinforce Apple’s commitment to a seamless customer experience by offering a completely integrated content ecosystem. Owning a major content company would give Apple greater leverage when negotiating other forms of movie, TV, and sports content and make it virtually unstoppable in the media space (beyond its existing bench strength).
2. AMAZON ACQUIRING RADIO SHACK OR BEST BUY
Amazon has long expressed a desire to have a retail footprint, and Radio Shack and Best Buy both need a savior.
Brick-and-mortar electronics stores can’t match Amazon prices, but people still want to go into a store to play with the products or speak with a knowledgeable representative. Most people will go to Best Buy to kick the tires, then turn around and buy a product for less on Amazon.
It makes perfect sense that Amazon would want to offer the best of both worlds. Jeff Bezos has expressed the idea that he would be interested in physical retail locations, but only if Amazon had a “truly differentiated idea.”
What better way to accomplish that goal than to acquire a chain of established stores and existing real estate in local neighborhoods?
3. SAMSUNG OR GOOGLE ACQUIRING FITBIT
These companies are focused on innovation, delivering seamless data integration across all their devices, and creating functional, stylish products that consumers rely on daily.
The race for the ultimate wearable is on, and both Google and Samsung have thrown their hats into the smart watch solutions ring.
Samsung released its Gear Fit fitness tracker in April. The verdict is still out about Gear Fit’s performance, but if it’s not a blockbuster success, Samsung may want to consider buying Fitbit to knock out its chief competitor. Samsung would also gain Fitbit’s audience, technology, and great customer experience.
Google hasn’t come out with a smart watch yet, though the Google Gem is rumored to be almost ready for market. The Gem is reportedly clunky, so it may fail to take off simply because it’s too large and unwieldy. The ability to offer consumers the sleeker Fitbit may appeal to Google, especially because it would take the company off the market for Apple or Samsung.
Industry behemoths will only make a move to acquire another company when they see the potential for huge returns (or a threat from a partnership with their competitors).
These players are primed to disrupt the industry together, and these acquisitions would also bring exciting changes for the consumer. These companies already provide a great customer experience individually–just imagine what they could do together.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group.
PS, The right mentor will also have the right CONNECTIONS to move any effort forward. Be sure to ask who they think they can bring to the table around advisorship, possible collaboration and even funding.
Originally posted: https://www.fastcompany.com/3029955/3-seemingly-obvious-tech-mergers-were-still-waiting-for
May 5, 2014,
Fast Company
One of the best parts of working in the tech industry is having a ringside seat to watch heavyweights like Google and Apple duke it out for market share and to be the first to develop the next big thing.
Read the entire article here: https://www.fastcompany.com/3029955/3-seemingly-obvious-tech-mergers-were-still-waiting-for
February 27, 2014,
Forbes
In recent years, technology has changed the way we view work, entertainment, media, and even our workout habits. While most people are focused on what’s next for wearables, cloud computing, and syncing gadgets, few have taken the time to consider the tech we’re going to be sending into retirement in the coming years.
Read the entire article here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/85broads/2014/02/27/4-tech-dinosaurs-that-will-finally-die-in-2015/https://www.forbes.com/sites/85broads/2014/02/27/4-tech-dinosaurs-that-will-finally-die-in-2015/
Early last month NASA announced its decision to enter the social media game, creating and maintaining a presence on Instagram. While such a decision may not have monumental significance to either NASA’s space programs or the every day lives of the majority of people, it is definitely an awesome decision with various benefits that may brighten all of our days.
Instagram created a pretty ingenious niche in the social media industry, by basically combining key features of its two largest predecessors: Twitter and Facebook. By taking the best of both worlds, Instagram is an incredible social media magnet (and entertaining time waster.) Twitter thrives on the idea of short, to the point, messages, almost trains of thought, being shared across the web, while Facebook focuses more on longevity, providing easy to scroll timelines of the “social life” of users, for the most part documented through images and pictures.
Well Instagram does both. Bringing quick, thought “process-esque,” sharing to photographs (of course with pretty cool, retro picture effects.) And while Facebook focuses on connecting “friends,” we can probably generalize that statement to “acquaintances,” and Twitter connects friends but most importantly celebrities and athletes to the average Joe, Instagram once again does both, which brings us back to NASA.
Beyond seeing what your friend’s eating in the “Valencia” color effect, or a squirrel searching for a nut, you can see the New York Knicks pre game workouts, Snoop Dogg, or Lion, smoking, and now beautiful images of space, courtesy of NASA. NASA’s public visibility has shrunken over the years as the Space Shuttle program is no more. So, what better way to keep the public informed about the amazing space exploration that is still going on than to share amazingly stunning photos from space? “We’re constantly looking to expand our social media portfolio to include tools that will best tell NASA’s story of exploration and discovery,” NASA Press Secretary Lauren Worley said in the statement announcing the new initiative.
So next time you’re waiting for a train or standing in line for coffee, check out NASA’s Instagram, stare at some star formations, some nebulas, comets, cool stuff; and it may spark your interest. This may be a genius way to increase interest in space exploration, especially amongst the younger crowd who’s on social media 24/7.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, President & CEO of the All Access Group, LLC
Hollywood exudes sex appeal, glamour, and stardom. Now, that glamour is spilling over into other industries — including the tech world. Hollywood stars are funding and branding startups. Celebrities are joining companies as CMOs or creative directors. And now, they’re developing their own brands on the side, too: think Jessica Alba’s eco-friendly baby business, The Honest Company.
This trend goes the other way as well. With late-night TV appearances and commercial cameos, tech stars are going mainstream. And shows like “Shark Tank” are giving entrepreneurship a new reputation.
Tech entrepreneurs — and the industry itself — need to take advantage of this newfound interest for pitches, funding, marketing, and more. Technology isn’t nerdy; it’s sexy. And it’s time for the tech industry to start acting like it.
Hitching to a Star
It’s a trend: Next-generation startups are collaborating with tech-savvy artists and celebrities for even more reach and influence. Why? These public figures have made careers of staying relevant, artistically and culturally — and they’ve often got great ideas for connecting with audiences that are tricky to engage.
Likewise, for celebrities and artists, embracing technologies that help them connect with their audience can only bring more money, engagement, and a cool factor of being cutting edge. When a tech company can partner with an artist with vision, an even more interesting, engaging product can result.
Here’s a great example: Last June, teenage pop sensation Justin Bieber landed on the front cover of Forbes as one of the most unlikely venture capitalists. But contrary to his bubblegum image, Bieber is actually a formidable investor: He has stakes in at least a dozen startups. This isn’t as unusual as people may think.
Often, specific kinds of startups draw the attention of celebrities. Social media is an obvious choice to invest in, culturally and financially. Lady Gaga and her manager, Troy Carter, even created Backplane, a Silicon Valley-based startup that helps celebrities and brands connect with fans and foster community.
Often, companies will recruit stars for creative consultation, innovation, and brainstorming. Alicia Keys was named Global Creative Director of Blackberry in January. And Lady Gaga was recently appointed as the Creative Director at Polaroid. These creative partnerships give tech companies broader exposure and relevance in pop culture. The artists benefit with forward-thinking endorsements — and the financial benefit of a successful investment.
Going Mainstream
Celebrities aren’t the only ones making headlines thanks to tech innovation. The entrepreneurs, thinkers, and creators behind the keyboard are becoming celebrities in their own right, too.
Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook and seized a generation’s attention. He’s been immortalized in pop culture and film. Steve Jobs has become a similar cultural force: His legacy at Apple and Pixar has created legions of loyal followers.
Why the interest in technology rock stars? Creative minds are fascinating, no matter what field they work in. And, as technology becomes more accessible and integrated with our daily lives, it becomes even more interesting to see who’s making the products that we live with every day — and what their life stories are.
New Image, New Future
When tech companies are looking to find funding, launch a product, or create marketing materials, taking this new cultural phenomenon into account can only help the companies and their brands. Here are a few ways to take advantage of this newfound interest:
Think about how your company fits into pop culture’s current moment. Can you make your company, product, or service even more relevant? How?
Remember, there are more ways to make money with media than ever before. Tools and services can now give customers the content they want on any device, anywhere in the world. And that’s changed content distribution and monetization — forever. Think about how new distribution avenues could work for your company.
Pave the way with a powerful partnership. Not every brand can afford the star power of a pop artist or a tech rock star — but a smart collaboration could double the power of your innovation. Don’t be afraid to partner with someone outside the tech industry. Think about how an outside perspective can make your company even more marketable. Make sure it’s a win-win.
Tech isn’t just for nerds anymore. And this isn’t just good for the industry — it’s good for everyone, from consumers to creative minds. It’s time to seize the moment, take advantage of this trend, and create something truly sexy as two very powerful industries converge.
View the Original posting on Steamfeed.com here.
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